Australia vs United States: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry
Australia
17.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
United States
16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Australia rank
10th
United States rank
12th
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry over time
- Australia
- United States
How they compare
Australia currently reports 17.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in United States, a difference of 0.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times United States's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was United States ahead.
Australia ranks 10th and United States ranks 12th of 198 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and United States in 16.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1.49 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1860s | 1.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1870s | 2.17 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1880s | 2.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1890s | 3.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.53 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1900s | 4.95 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 13.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.58 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1910s | 6.56 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 10.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1920s | 6.76 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1930s | 6.09 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 14.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.24 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1940s | 7.75 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 11.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1950s | 10.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.68 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1960s | 12.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.12 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1970s | 15.53 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 9.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1980s | 17.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.73 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1990s | 20.3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 23.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 2000s | 22.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.3506 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 2010s | 20.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Australia |
| 2020s | 17.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 16.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.38 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry, Australia or United States?
- Australia, at 17.05 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in United States as of 2024.
- What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry between Australia and United States?
- 0.85 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do Australia and United States rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry?
- Australia ranks 10th and United States ranks 12th of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.